Deal Breaker
by Hikaru Kosuzaku
Summary: Demons aren't afraid of anything. The Auphe scare everything in sight. So...how, exactly does that work? Xover with Rob Thurman's Cal Leandros series. Spoliers for AHBL and Deathwish


It wasn't often that a vampire called them for help. In fact, considering they were hunters, it never happened. But this vampire named Promise had called them, saying that a cousin had told her that they could be trusted. Trusted not to kill them just for being different so long as no humans were harmed. She could understand the need to hunt, had in fact, hunted troublemakers herself.

And so the brothers had driven to New York City.

And it was there that they had met two brothers that were so much like themselves it was almost scary.

Sam and Dean Winchester hadn't expected to run into Gordon when they went to New York. Of course, maybe they should have, considering it was a vampire that had called them. The man had, in fact, kidnapped a kid (according to Dean, although Cal was only slightly younger than Sam) and was threatening to kill the 'monster bastard'.

Niko, Cal's older brother, had been shot earlier on, although that hadn't kept the man from joining them. And he had ruthlessly cut down Gordon, although not killing the man. Instead, he wouldn't ever be able to hunt again. It was hard to fire a gun when you were missing a hand, after all. Gordon should have considered himself lucky after kidnapping and practically torturing Cal, but he instead made some decisions that ended up with him back in prison.

Although there was the question of how he had gotten out in the first place…

No matter, though, once Niko had gotten his little brother back, he had given the two Winchesters the invitation to stay with them for a short time. He had explained the dangers of doing such; the Grendels, or Auphe rather, were still after Cal, but the Winchesters looked so worn down by that point that he couldn't help but ask.

Sam had somehow caused those protective feelings that he had only before gotten for Cal.

Then again, Dean seemed slightly overprotective of Cal as well.

Must be a big brother thing.

The hunt for their father had left them weary and jaded, and the Leandros brothers couldn't help but feel for them. Or maybe it was the fact that Sam and Cal had struck up a rather strange friendship and the older brothers sentimentality couldn't seem to want to split them up until they were ready to part. Whatever the reason, the Winchesters and Leandros brothers stayed together for nearly two weeks before Sam and Dean got wind of some funky business going on down in Mississippi.

They still kept in touch. It wasn't strange for someone to get a phone call in the middle of the day or night to see what if they knew what some strange creature was and how to kill it. The first time Cal called Sam to just bitch about overprotective brothers, Bobby had been with them and had gotten an earful due to Sam's putting the call on speaker.

The younger Winchester couldn't stop laughing enough to properly hold the phone.

So when Niko got a call from Sam nearly a year after their first meeting, he wasn't terribly surprised. They had recently finished off the rest of the Auphe, and Niko's run-in with Promise's daughter and her chupracabra was finally beginning to wear off. Cal could leave the apartment without Niko practically panicking, and Niko was back with Promise. Life was actually looking good.

He smiled softly, merely a light tilt of his lips, and answered the phone. "Sam?"

"Hey Niko," Sam said softly.

Niko's smile disappeared, replaced by a frown. "What's wrong?" he asked, immediately sensing something off about the youngest Winchester.

"I…Dean…" Sam broke off, not sure what to say, and Niko sat down on the couch. "I died, Niko. I died and Dean sold his soul to a demon to get me back." Cal walked in with Robin then, in time to see Niko pale drastically. It wasn't often that they saw the older Leandros in such a state. "He only has two hundred days left, Nik. And if either of us try to break the deal I go back to being dead and I can't do that to him. But I can't lose him either and—" He was babbling.

"Hush Sam," Niko said comfortingly. "We'll figure something out."

"I can't lose him too, Nik," Sam mumbled.

"I know," Niko said, knowing full well what it was to lose the last of your family. He had just suffered that recently, even if it hadn't been real. And as such he could fully understand why Dean had made that deal. "We'll figure something out."

Sam made a small noise. "You don't know demons, Nik," he retorted. That was true enough. He and Cal hardly ever had to deal with demons as they tended to stay away from wherever the Auphe were. And as the Auphe had spent the last six years or so haunting the City for Cal, the demons had steered clear.

"No," he agreed. "But I know what they're afraid of." He paused, glancing at his brother and Robin (and not necessarily wanting to know why they were together at eleven o'clock at night) before turning his attention back to his pseudo-brother on the phone. "Where are you?"

"Bobby's," Sam replied, sounding slightly choked. It was fully possible that the younger Winchester had refused to let himself fall to his emotions for long enough that they had finally consumed him. "Something big's goin' down and Ellen, Jo, Dean and I are here with Bobby makin' plans."

"If you can hold out for a few more days we'll join you there," Niko said, although he didn't necessarily like the idea of travelling in a car for that long. Cal tended to get bored easily, and when that happened, all hell could break lose. He hung up the phone and looked up at his brother again, reading the confused curiosity in the silver-gray eyes. "We're going to North Dakota."

Cal frowned. "Bobby's?" he asked, knowing full well who lived in North Dakota due to his extensive talks with the other brothers. "Why?"

"Sam died," Niko said bluntly, watching as both Robin and Cal started. "And Dean made a deal with a demon to get him back."

"You can't break deals with demons," Robin said, also frowning and looking rather perturbed. And wasn't that an unusual look for the usually exuberant puck?

Niko raised an eyebrow. "Unless, of course, you know their weaknesses," he replied, looking straight at his younger brother. He hated the thought of using Cal in such a way, but he owed those brothers, and Cal knew it.

The younger Leandros frowned, running a hand through his dark hair. "Yeah. Yeah okay. Let's do this shit."

~*~

To say Dean was surprised when another car pulled into Bobby's lot would have been an understatement. That surprise only escalated when Robin, Promise, Niko and Cal exited the car and made their way towards him. Promise automatically flitted off to the covered porch, aiming to get out of the sun. Dean watched her go before turning back to the other three. "Robin, Niko, Brat," he said in greeting.

Cal stuck his tongue out at him and received a light cuff on the back of the head from his brother.

"Sam called," Niko murmured, as though that explained everything. And, really, it did. Dean nodded and Cal looked around.

"Where is gigantor, anyway?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Out back," Dean answered, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. "Careful though, this place is crawling with hunters."

Cal gave a wave and ran off, not exactly worried. After what they had recently been though, hunters weren't exactly on the top of their scary-stuff list. Niko watched him go, and Dean noticed that it was with a tad more obsessiveness than before. Funny, he was the same way with Sam. The other three followed at a more sedate pace, Robin breaking off to talk to Jo. Or, rather, flirt. Boy was he out of his league there, Dean noted.

"Dean-o," Bobby grunted, looking askance at Promise. "Why is there a vampire on my porch?" Ellen looked just short of drawing her gun.

"She's a friend," Dean answered, giving a small wave. "Hi Promise."

"Dean," the vampire answered with a slight tilt of her head. She too was watching Robin, who for once seemed to not be getting his way.

"You boys hunters?" Ellen asked, looking over her shoulder to where Sam and Cal could just barely be seen sitting in the dirt next to an old car. They seemed to be conversing about something pretty heavily.

"Of a sort," Niko murmured, moving so that he could see Cal and Sam a little better. He may have been getting better since the episode with the chupracabra, but he was nowhere near as trusting. "Sam said that something big was happening?"

"Demon gate opened," Bobby grunted. "Let loose a bunch of them all over the place. You boys know how to handle demons?"

Promise smiled lightly. "Demons tend to leave us alone, for the most part," she answered. She shrugged and turned to look at Niko. "I'm going to scout out the premises. See if I can't manage to find an unpaved crossroads." She left with little more than a whisper of sound.

That caused everyone to start in surprise. "Niko…" Dean grumbled. "What _exactly_ did Sam call you about?"

Niko merely raised an eyebrow, leaning against the doorframe and watching as Sam said something that caused Cal to burst into uncontrollable laughter. It'd been a long time since Cal had laughed that hard. "I understand why you did what you did, Dean," he said, a roundabout way of answering the question. "I…Cal…" he sighed.

Dean leaned on the opposite side of the door, studying his friend. For the longest time the two older brothers had irked each other. They hadn't been able to get along until they both realized that it was because of their protective tendencies for both of the younger boys. Dean saw the weariness in the Rom's face, the tightness around his eyes. "What happened?" he asked softly.

"I lost him," Niko murmured, almost forgetting the fact that Bobby and Ellen were nearby and listening. Niko's fist clenched against the wood of the doorframe. "Again. Even if it wasn't real and it was all in my mind…he was gone. Torn apart on that rug. I close my eyes and I still see him lying there." He let out a strangled chuckle. "Funny how _my_ little brother, my _half-Auphe _little brother is what keeps me human."

Dean swallowed, knowing just what it was like to lose a younger brother. Knowing the guilt that was associated with it, the mind-numbing pain. And for it to happen to Niko again, for the third time running.

"_Be grateful you never had to kill your little brother, Dean." It was whispered, as the two of them watched Sam and Cal argue over something. "Because despite the fact that he's still breathing I will never get his blood off my hands."_

"Niko," Dean choked out. "When I die, could you watch out for Sammy for me?"

"You're not going to die, Dean," Niko replied, looking at him with steely gray eyes. "We came for a reason."

"I can't break that deal," Dean countered. "I can't watch my baby brother die again."

Niko nodded, straightening. "With any luck, you won't have to." He stalked away, heading towards Sam and Cal. Dean turned back to Bobby and Ellen, who were watching him silently.

"Dean, who are these people?" Ellen asked.

"Friends," he replied, still looking a little shell-shocked.

Ellen frowned, remembering what Niko had said about his brother. She didn't know what an 'Auphe' was, but by the sounds of it, it wasn't human. She wasn't comfortable with non-humans hanging about. It had taken all her self-control not to shoot the vampire from earlier. "And you can trust them?"

"I trust them with Sam's life," Dean answered simply. And that was saying a lot.

Because in Dean's eyes, Sam's life was far more important than his own.

~*~

It was dark when Niko buried the little box in the crossroads. Jo, Ellen, Promise, Robin, Sam, Dean, and Bobby were in plain sight, and Cal was hanging back in the shadows. Those who didn't know exactly what he was were confused by that, but they made not mention of it.

"Niko, darling," a voice purred, and Niko turned, his sword drawn and held loosely in his hand. "We've been watching you."

"Wonderful," Niko answered. "And what have you found?"

The crossroads demon circled him, eyeing the group of people watching. "You want to get Deanie out of his deal? Well, I'm sorry but that's not going to work." She gave a small smile. "It's not like you have anything to hold over me. You can't kill a demon."

"You're right," Niko said pleasantly. "I can't. But an Auphe can."

The demon flinched at the mention of the Auphe. "They're dead, sweetie. You took care of that. The Aupre are gone."

"They missed one," Cal hissed, coming out of the shadows. The demon backed up as Cal came forward, her face taking on a panicky look that didn't seem possible for a demon. Niko backed up, allowing his brother to take the spotlight.

"You think you can threaten me, little boy?" the demon snapped, studying Cal.

Cal growled, stalking forward with an unnatural grace that he rarely ever showed. It was the part of him that he locked away unless his family was threatened. And while Sam and Dean weren't necessarily family, they were damn well near enough. "I think I can," he growled out, his words the harsh, guttural language of the Auphe.

The demon, startled, scrambled back. Cal merely smirked, circling her like she had Niko. He continued in the Auphe language, seeing Bobby, Jo and Ellen shift nervously in the corner of his eye. "You know I can kill you. Bleed you dry. And I'll follow you to hell and do the same to all your little demon friends. You know I will."

"All this for Dean?" the demon spat. "You would never survive your trip to Hell."

Cal laughed then, a harsh, grating laugh. "I've survived Tumulus, love," he murmured. "A place even your kind consider to be Hell." He grinned a vindictive grin. "I could _send_ you to Tumulus." The demon didn't look convinced and Cal's form shimmered, disappearing from view. He reappeared right behind her and she spun around with a gasp.

Dean glanced over at Niko as Cal continued to taunt the demon. The blond was watching, his mouth pulled into a tight line. Dean had a feeling that this side of Cal reminded Niko of far too much. Most probably the Darkling. Or perhaps how Cal was when he first came back from Tumulus two years older than when he had disappeared into the void.

And he thought that he and Sammy had had a shitty life.

The demon snapped something and abruptly disappeared and Dean suddenly wavered, feeling suddenly different. Lighter.

"There," Cal stated, walking over to where Niko was watching him. "It's done. You're free." The sudden change in disposition was almost as frightening as his earlier performance. "Damn demons are freakin' cowards." Niko grabbed his jacket and hauled him closer, murmuring something in his ear. Cal frowned and replied, and Dean got the sudden sense that they weren't talking in English. Which made him wonder what language Cal had actually taken the time to learn, not including the Auphe language which had more than likely been forced upon him.

"Thank you," Sam suddenly said, grabbing both Leandros brothers into a hug. "Thank you."

Slightly startled, as though he couldn't figure out why he was being thanked, Cal merely waved it off. Niko gave Sam a soothing hug and then pushed him towards Dean, who took his little brother much like Niko had. The other five merely watched the brotherly-love-fest.

"So," Cal said, looking at all the hunters. "I'm bored. You said there's a bigass demon war going on?"

Fin

**Yeah, this idea hit me upside the head. I can see Cal scaring the crossroads demon and couldn't help but write it. Plus, I hated how Dean ended up dying and I'm not a fan of the fourth season of Supernatural. Sorry, but I'm really not. I may or may not add more chapters of little scenes between Cal, Niko, Sam and Dean. Can't promise though.**

**Oh, and the language that Cal and Niko were speaking was Romani, the language of the Rom gypsies. Loves to all of ya!**


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